A review by squirrelfish
Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse by Timothy P. Carney

3.0

An interesting book worth reading for the analysis of the 2016 Republican primaries. I believe it's got some good points - the picture of social infrastructure, personal satisfaction and the failure of the ideas of an Ayn Randian independent individual are all convincing. He writes of the move from volunteer-based community service generally affiliated with churches to government provided services of the same nature as a driver of social disaffection. It's an interesting idea with some strong points but I think he fails to acknowledge that churches can be exclusionary and only available to some members of the community. I'm also interested in how generational mobility and class tie into a lot of the concerns he mentions. Good ideas, worth incorporating into my mental models but not entirely convincing.

Audiobook read through the Libby app and the SF Public Library (in two sessions because I didn't finish it and other people had it on hold).